Syracuse Football: Delving into the final 5 weeks of ‘Cuse football in 2023

So here we are Syracuse football fans. The Orange is coming off the bye week. They’re 4-3 coming off three straight losses to three very good teams.

We all knew those three games back-to-back-to-back would be rough. And yes unfortunately Syracuse lost and it wasn’t pretty. Those games likely should have been spread out but schedules are made in advance so that didn’t help either, but it’s over now and time to focus on the last five games.

Syracuse needs two wins to be bowl-eligible and I think bowl eligibility is a fair point of emphasis for success. Obviously, the goal is to win all five if you can and the more wins you get, the better bowl options you have for the team and more money, too, and also more fan support as well.

So let’s look at the remaining schedule. And I’m not going to sit here and degrade any other team and say that it’s easier. I will say however I think these remaining games will likely be competitive and Syracuse has a chance in all of them.

Here are the remaining Syracuse football opponents and their records.

At 3-4 Virginia Tech

At home against 4-3 Boston College

At Yankee Stadium against 2-5 Pittsburgh

At 3-4 Georgia Tech

At home against 4-3 Wake Forest

So there is no “easy” game if you look at the teams and the records. Even Pittsburgh being 2-5 is at a neutral site, and Syracuse football regularly struggles with that opponent so I don’t look at that as an “easy win.”

Virginia Tech is this Thursday night on ESPN, Boston College is next Friday night on ESPN 2 with the Pittsburgh Yankees Stadium game the following Saturday at 3:30 and the remainder scheduled for Saturdays but still waiting on start times. So they’re going to be all over the spectrum of college football schedules over the next five weeks.

Can Syracuse football come out and respond well, especially on the offensive side of the ball? Can they keep players healthy and get to a bowl game, which also comes with extra practices for younger players and exposure too? Can they finish with at least seven wins like last season or top that?

As I said, none of these are “easy” wins, but Syracuse football has an opportunity here to win out or at least win most. And while many like pointing out the recent struggles in the Head Coach Dino Babers era finishing the season, winning out or at least winning more than you lose can help change that narrative as well.

My gut feeling says they go 4-1 with one game just not going our way and I’m fine with that. I think finishing 4-1 or 5-0 sends a strong signal that this team struggled but never gave up. If they finish 3-2, you’re still equal to last season at least and 2-3 still gets you a bowl game. But if they finish 1-4 or 0-5, be prepared for many fans and even former players to become more vocal about their displeasure with the direction of the program.

I love this staff. I love these players. I love my Orange and I won’t give up on them, and my chance meeting with Coach Babers recently at a Cuse men’s soccer game only reinforced my belief that I believe we can win.

What are your thoughts? How do you think they finish and what is your baseline for success in regards to these five games? Are you a bowl game or bust fan, a support them no matter what fan, a better bowl or you are out fan, or are you already done for the season?